Aztecs continue their slump as Falcons soar on

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State had the same number of turnovers as
baskets on Saturday night. That's the biggest reason why the Aztecs
were no match for the Air Force Academy men's basketball team.

San Diego State had 19 of each in watching Air Force leave Cox
Arena with a 57-43 win for the Falcons' 13th consecutive
victory.

Saturday's victory could vault the Falcons into the top 25 for
the first time in school history when Monday's Associated Press
poll is released. The Falcons (15-2, 5-0) lead the Mountain West
Conference by 1 1/2 games over Utah.

The Aztecs (11-9, 2-3) are going in the opposite direction after
dropping their third straight.

A season-high crowd of 11,027 attended the game. It was the
fifth most to attend an Aztecs home game in Cox Arena and the
program's seventh-largest home crowd ever.

What the large gathering saw was Air Force's disciplined system
run to near-perfection. The Falcons entered the game as the
nation's leader in defense, allowing 47.1 points per game. They
held the Aztecs to a season-low point total. SDSU's previous low
was 65.

"Playing against them, possessions are key to get as many shots
as possible," Aztecs center Aerick Sanders said. "Unless you're
playing lights-out defense, it's going to be hard to stay in the
game with Air Force the way they use the clock and manage the
ball."

Sanders and Brandon Heath scored a combined four points
Saturday. Sanders was 2-of-6 from the field, and Heath missed all
three of his field-goal attempts.

The duo entered the game averaging a combined 34.1 points.

"I knew all week the game was going to be like this," Heath
said. "The older guys were telling me that instead of getting 14
shots, I'd get about four.

"I dread playing games like this. I'd rather play an up-and-down
tempo. We just have to be ready to play when the game's going like
this."

The Falcons were 11 of 26 from 3-point range. Antoine Hood led a
balanced Air Force attack with 15 points.

The Aztecs trailed 24-20 at halftime, but three straight baskets
at the outset of the second half by freshman forward Marcus
Slaughter gave SDSU a 26-24 advantage.

The momentum would be short-lived. The Aztecs scored just nine
points over the next 12 1/2 minutes and found themselves trailing
by eight.

The closest the Aztecs got in the final 6 1/2 minutes was 47-42
after Slaughter's basket and free throw with 3:29 to play.

The Falcons outscored the Aztecs 10-1 the rest of the game.

"Each time they wanted to take control and defend their home
court, we took control and pulled away, especially at the end," Air
Force coach Joe Scott said.

Wesley Stokes (12 points) and Slaughter (11 points) were the
only Aztecs to score in double figures. Stokes was held out of the
starting lineup for missing a weightlifting session a few days
before the game. He entered with the game nearly five minutes old
and played the remainder of the contest.

The Aztecs will attempt to end their losing skid when they host
New Mexico (11-7, 2-3) on Monday night.